Bulldogs welcome UConn to Smithfield Tuesday (3 p.m.)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Coming off another solid weekend on the road, the Bryant University softball team returns to Smithfield Tuesday afternoon (3 p.m.) to host UConn at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs enter this week's action boasting a 25-17 overall recoding, tying the previous Division I program mark for wins in a season (2011). More importantly, the Black and Gold went 3-1 on their weekend trip to Pennsylvania, splitting a pair of games at Robert Morris on Friday before sweeping the Red Flash in Loretto on Saturday.

Sophomore pitcher Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) went 3-1 over the weekend, allowing just 13 runs in 24.2 innings while upping her win total to a team-best 19. Classmate Hayley Bottino (Canyon Country, Calif.) led the way at the dish hitting .385 with five hits including a homerun and a double.

Connecticut enters Tuesday's tilt with an 11-31 record, 3-12 in the AAC. Most recently, the Huskies dropped the final two game of a three-game series vs. Temple in Storrs, Conn. Sophomore infielder Valeria Sadowl leads the team with a .340 average with six homeruns and 16 RBI. Senior Audrey Grinnell enters the contest with 26 hits including four doubles, five homers and a team-leading 22 RBI. In the circle, junior Lauren Duggan handles most of the pitching duties, compiling a 7-18 overall record in 136.1 innings this season. Last season in Storrs, the Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the first but Grinnell and Sadowl both drove in a run a piece en route to a 5-2 UConn victory.

In the first of eight-straight home games to close out the season, Bryant will look to open its lengthy homestand on a high note with a strong performance vs. UConn on Tuesday.

For all the latest news on the Bryant University softball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.